Once the seeding meetings have finished, the picture starts to become clearer, as teams have decided what athletes will be entered in which events. Looking at the picture now, three teams have come into focus as contenders for the team title.

Souhegan is still the premier balanced team, spreading around athletes in nearly every event (they can realistically score in every event except 2) and relying on numbers rather than event wins. If their sprinters, led by Abbey Cranny and distance runners, led by Madeline Hunt, can sprinkle in a couple wins both individually and in the relays, the Sabers will be tough to beat.

Lebanon by contrast, will score the lion’s share of its points behind two athletes, Corinne Kennedy(could score 40 points) and Kath Merchant(favored to win the Shot). With a realistic potential for 50 points from 2 athletes, coupled with the Raiders knack of performing quite well in state championships, don’t be surprised if they give the Sa
bers a run!

Oyster River features a talented group or sprinters and jumpers to collect the bulk of their points. If Devan McClainand Xiana Twombley have big days, including relays, the Bobcats could threaten the podium.

Both Portsmouth and Merrimack Valleycould vie for the runner’s up spot if the top three teams get tripped up! The Lady Clippers will need Acadia Momm-Whiteto have a big day, while the Lady Pride would need Kristie Schoffieldand their relays to score big.

Individually, Lebanon’s Corinne Kennedy has to be highlighted here. She has to be considered one of the best track AND field athletes in NH history. Not only does she have yet another opportunity to score 40 points with four wins, but she can conceivably set new Division II and state records in three of them. At 1:34.85 (#9 USA), she is already under Grace Rodriguez’s 1:35.73 (Hanover-2009). Don’t overlook her seed time of 41.64 in the 300 either. She already possesses the D2 record with the 39.99 she posted last year, which is only .12 away from Anna Ciofreddi’s (Lebanon) state record from 2007. Then she has the hurdles where her seed time of 8.38 is already under the D2 record of 8.41 by Ginny Lavallee (Sanborn). And, oh yeah, Kennedy can high jump 5’4″ and long jump with the best of them as well.

Trinity and Windham could very well be engaged in an epic battle on Sunday! They hold the #1 and #2 seeds in 4 head-to-head events: the 55 dash, 300, 600, and 4×4! The two teams are also #1 and #3 in the 4×200, sandwiching the third team, Portsmouth. With Trinity being the top rank in all those events, to win they have the task of holding that top position, to win Windham simply has to unseat them.

Portsmouth could be the beneficiary of those head-to-head battles in the end, when the relay teams take the track, as they hold down top 4 rankings in all three of the relays.

Oyster River is of course led by Patrick O’Brien who is poised to sweep the 3k and 1500. Sprinkle in points throughout the program, the Bobcats could total 40 points or so.

Merrimack Valley strong relay teams could turn the tide against the lead team heading into the 4×400. Always a strong track and field team, don’t be surprised if the Pride has a great meet and cracks the top three.

The individual to watch in this meet has to be Oyster River’s O’Brien. In both the 3000 meters and 1500 meters, if O’Brien decides to race all out, Division and State records are in jeopardy. With a seed time of 8:43.02 (US #9), O’Brien is already faster than his coach’s brother Alex McGrath’s (Con-Val) 2008 Division 2 record of 8:46.73 and only a half a second away from Francis Hernandez’s (BG) 2009 State record of 8:42.52. With his converted 4:19.05 (US #12) mile time from the New Balance Boston Grand Prix of 3:59.90, O’Brien is well under Jonathan Vinnenberg’s (Bow) 2012 Division II record of 4:06.50 and a mere second away from John Shroeder’s (North) 2006 State record of 3:58.63. Could he break both records? Well, if he is not on the 4×800, why not?